•LOST GIRL• Jack Hunter

26. the hospital

*

JACKS HEAD FELT HEAVY AS HE SEEMED TO BE TRAPPED INSIDE HIS OWN MIND. HE COULD HEAR FAMILIAR VOICES WHISPERING AROUND HIM BUT HE WAS UNABLE TO OPEN HIS EYES. HE FOCUSED ON ONE VOICE IN PARTICULAR CAUSING HIS HEART TO FLUTTER. HE COULD HEAR ARIA ARGUING WITH SOMEONE AND HE DESPERATELY WANTED TO OPEN HIS EYES AND HOLD HER BUT NO MATTER HOW HARD HE TRIED HE WAS UNABLE TO GET HIS EYES OPEN.

"But this seat is so uncomfortable." Eric complained as he couldn't stop moving his body.

"I will not allow you to move Jacks unconscious body out of his hospital bed just so your back won't hurt." Aria replies defensively.

"He doesn't even know where he is... he's not gonna notice if I move him to this chair." Eric tells Aria in a carefree tone.

"You are unbelievable." Aria mutters as she rests her head in her hands.

She knew Eric was arguing with her because it was a distraction from the fact that his best friend was in a hospital bed. They knew Jack wasn't going to die but he had a pretty bad concussion and he still hadn't woken up. Aria couldn't help but blame herself for what happened. If she didn't live with the boys Richard would have never come and hurt them. She couldn't get his face out of her mind. His stupid grin and his taunting voice as he chased after her. She kept replaying the moment when he hurt her friends over and over again in her head and she felt so guilty.

"Wow this hospital food is ass." Shawn complains as he eats off of Jacks food tray.

"Hey! That's for Jack!" Aria yells angrily as she grabs the fork out of Shawns hand.

"Jack doesn't care if I eat it... right Jack?" Shawn says playfully as he turns towards his unconscious brother.

When Jack doesn't respond because he is still completely unconscious Shawn takes another bite.

"See.. he doesn't care." Shawn reassures Aria.

Aria sighs as her eyes land on Jack. She hated how he got hurt trying to protect her. Jack was always the strong one and now he was suffering and Aria couldn't help him. She hated how helpless she felt and the guilt was slowly killing her because she loved him so much. Aria couldn't help but notice how adorable he looked even after he had been beaten up. His hair was messy and bruises were scattered across his face.

"Maybe if you kiss him he will wake up." Eric says dramatically causing Aria to quickly look away from Jack.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not kissing him...you kiss him!" Aria replies sharply as she feels her face get hot.

The thought of kissing Jack made her heart flutter.

"Maybe if you kiss me he will wake up." Shawn says to Aria flirtatiously.

"Maybe we can scare him awake." Eric says in a serious tone.

Aria raises her eyebrow at him.

"On what planet would that actually work?" Shawn asks Eric sarcastically.

"Think about it... when you're sleeping and you're dreaming.. you wake up immediately if you have a nightmare... so if we scare him he will wake up." Eric says as he feels proud of himself for coming up with that statement.

"You are an idiot." Aria huffs in disbelief.

"Wait he has a good point." Shawn says as he points at Eric. 

"No... it doesn't make any sense." Aria mutters under her breath as she shakes her head.

"Boo!" Eric yells as he gets close to Jacks bed.

Aria laughs as Eric looks ridiculously as he attempts to scare Jack.

"He can't see you dumbass." Shawn tells Eric sharply.

"Yeah but he can hear me..." Eric says as an idea pops in his head.

Eric screams loudly out of nowhere causing Aria to stare at him as a puzzled look remained on her face.

"Why.. I don't even wanna know anymore." Aria says as she gets up.

She sits on the edge of Jacks bed before gently grabbing his hand.

"Why did you scream at him?" Shawn asks Eric curiously.

"So Jack thinks something scary is happening to me which will cause him to wake up and wanna save me." Eric says in a hopeful tone,

Aria gently rubbed her finger back and forth against Jacks hand. His hand remained lifeless next to his body as Arias eyes rested on his face. He seemed so relaxed and calm yet she knew he was fighting a battle in his mind to stay alive. Aria hated seeing him like this.. it wasn't fair for him to suffer... it should have been her in that hospital bed. She felt a tear form in her eye.

Eric screamed again causing Aria to glare at him as she quickly wiped at her eye.

"Who the hell keeps screaming?" Jack mumbled as his voice sounded tired and weak.

Aria, Shawn and Eric all looked at one another with wide eyes.

"Told you scaring him would work." Eric says proudly.

Aria ignores him as she pulls Jack in for a hug. Jacks head was killing him but the moment he wrapped his arms around Aria he felt safe and comfortable.

"I'm so sorry." Aria whispers as she clings onto him.

"Sorry for what? You did nothing wrong." Jack tells her in a soft tone.

Aria took in Jacks familiar scent and warm embrace as she felt the stress and fear slip away from her body. Jack realized Eric and Shawn were just awkwardly watching him and Aria hugging each other causing him to slowly pull away from Aria. He grabbed her hand to keep a form of contact with her.

"Are you alright?" Jack asks Aria in a concerned tone.

"Am I alright? Are you kidding me? You're the one who's in the hospital I should be asking you if you are okay." Aria replies sharply.

"Did he hurt you?" Jack asks Aria as he gently rubs her arm.

"No... it's my fault he hurt you." Aria says in a disappointed tone.

"No... you can't blame yourself for his actions... he's an asshole and you can't feel guilty for what he does... you don't control him... none of this is you fault." Jack tells her as he gently moves a piece of Arias hair out of her face.

Arias eyes locked with Jacks eyes causing butterflies to swirl in her stomach. Jack thought she looked insanely beautiful as she stared back into his eyes.

"It's hard to not feel guilty when he hurts the people who get in his way when he's trying to get to me." Aria says weakly.

"You can't think like that... he's a terrible person and you are not responsible for his actions. I'm sorry he put his hands on you at the apartment.... I know it was only momentarily but I know how violated it made you feel." Jack says softly as he looks like he might cry.

"I'm fine... don't worry about me I'm worried about you." Aria says as Jacks eyes flicker to her lips.

"This makes me wanna puke up the horrible hospital food I just ate." Shawn says as he gags.

Aria and Jack quickly look away from each other as Jack throws a pillow at Shawn.

"Glad to see you two are concerned about me." Jack teases Eric and Shawn.

"Hey! We've been here all night... and I scared you out of your coma." Eric says in a serious tone.

Jack laughs causing his head to hurt. He winced in pain as he tightly squeezed Arias hand. He was just thankful to be alive and with his friends right now.

___________________________
Jack is so concerned for her but he's in the hospital like bruh 😩